SCB teams up with Alipay to develop payment channel for Chinese shoppers

Corporate November 23, 2017 19:53

By The Nation

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Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) has made another move to drive towards a cashless society in Thailand with e-payment, as the bank joins e-payment provider Alipay to develop an e-payment system supporting Alipay’s QR code payment.

Hoping that the cooperation will enable Thai merchants to better serve shoppers from China, the feature is now available nationwide. The cooperative effort expects to offer QR code payment service to 200,000 retailer accounts by the end of this year.

The campaign aims to promote QR code payment with Mae Manee as a digital commerce mascot and colorful gimmick.

“The campaign aims to emphasize that SCB’s QR code payment supports payments made with any bank’s mobile banking application as well as e-payment providers of any nationality. For the latter, SCB anticipates that it will play a vital role in Thailand in the next few years. This effort is to achieve the bank’s strategies and goal of being the most admired bank.”

This will help facilitate transactions between small retailers and Chinese tourists, who prefer paying with the Alipay app when shopping in Thailand.

Alipay plays a crucial role in China’s economy, while merchants in Thailand are more and more adaptive to e-payments. The trends are in line with SCB’s aim to promote QR code payment service among shops and merchants to boost their commercial opportunities. In the early phase, SCB will introduce the payment through Alipay’s QR Code at Yaowarat, and Platinum Fashion Mall in Bangkok, as they are prominent landmarks with Chinese tourists. The feature will be rolled out nationwide by the end of this year. With this cooperation with Alipay, SCB is confident of achieving its target of offering QR code payment service to 200,000 retailer accounts this year and another 500,000 accounts to 700,000 accounts by 2018.

In addition, SCB will promote a new business model for retailers by helping them create a digital presence to connect their off-line and on-line worlds. As technology brings shoppers to their physical and on-line shops, small and medium-sized shops can do business 24/7.

SCB has already introduced a trial phase of this business model at Chatuchak Weekend Market that received a warm welcome from both retailers and shoppers.

Pipavin Sodprasert, Thailand country manager for Ant Financial Services Group, the operator of Alipay said, “Thailand is an important country for Alipay to extend payment channels and marketing services, as over 10 million Chinese tourists visit Thailand each year. The Alipay app is a crucial tool for payments for Chinese tourists who don’t want to carry a large amount of cash, and an important marketing platform for local merchants seeking to approach Chinese tourists before, during and after their visits in Thailand. Meanwhile, more than 20,000 Thai retailers now accept payments with Alipay for the convenience of Chinese customers. To quickly grow the number of retailers accepting Alipay, we are excited to partner SCB to further develop QR code payment for retailers.